Automatic lawn sprinkler control

ABSTRACT

A control-valve mechanism which may be used to control the flow of liquids from one inlet to a number of outlets, which includes a plurality of valves operated by a cam. The cam is operated through an electric motor having a control circuit which includes a timer and a timer bypass switch, the bypass switch being operated by a trip arm which is connected to the cam.

United States Patent Inventor Allen F. Polzer 108 Cadmus Ave., EastPaterson, NJ. 07407 Appl. No. 33,651

Filed May 1, 1970 Patented Aug. 17, 1971 AUTOMATIC LAWN SPRINKLERCONTROL 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 137/608, 137/609, 200/153 T Int. Cl F161: 11/10 Field 01' Search137/609, 608; 307/1 18; ZOO/61.86

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1935 Berlyn 2,085,916 7/1937Marra 137/609 X 2,721,101 10/1955 Richard.. 307/118 2,965,134 12/1960Pouppirt. 137/609 X 3,011,509 12/1961 Wilson 137/609 X' 3,024,372 3/1962Seele 307/118 3,144,046 8/1964 Seesselberg 137/609 X PrimaryExaminer-Robert K. Schaefer Assistant ExaminerWilliam J. SmithAttorney-Reno A. De] Ben ABSTRACT: A control-valve mechanism which maybe used to control the flow of liquids from one inlet to a number ofoutlets, which includes a plurality of valves operated by a cam. The camis operated through an electric motor having a control circuit whichincludes a timer and a timer bypass switch, the bypass switch beingoperated by a trip arm which is connected to the cam.

PATENTED M181 7:911

SHEET. 1 OF 2 mvawrore BY ALLEN F. POLZER ZV%MM RT'TO RNEV AUTOMATICLAWN SPRINKLER CONTROL This invention deals with control valves and moreparticularly with control valve assemblies having an inlet and aplurality of outlets and which may be used for controlling the flow ofwater alternately through a series of water hoses or pipes.

In the past, valves and valve assemblies which have been available forthe control of water or other fluids have generally been capable ofoperating through only one cycle, or else have not been capable of beingautomatically opened or shut at predetermined intervals of time. Thepresent invention is a clock operated lawn sprinkler control valveassembly having an inlet and a plurality of outlets, the flow of wateror fluid being controlled by alternately opening and blocking offdifferent outlets.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a clock controlledvalve assembly which may be used in operating a lawn sprinkling system.

Another object of this invention is to provide a clock operated valvefor a lawn sprinkling system which will operate for a predeterminedperiod of time and which will then shutoff completely and automatically.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a clock operatedvalve assembly, which may be used for a lawn sprinkling system and whichmay be operated for a predetermined but changeable period of time andwhich will completely shutoff the flow of water after said period oftime.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a clock operatedvalve assembly which will cycle water through a series of water hoses orpipes for predetermined periods of time and which will first close offthe flow of water through one water hose or pipe before opening the flowof water through another water hose or pipe.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a clock operatedvalve assembly which will slowly shut off the flow of water through oneoutlet before opening the flow of water through another outlet, therebyeliminating a water hammer effect. I

Another object of this invention is to provide a valve assembly whichmay be automatically opened and closed at predetermined, but changeabletimes.

7 These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to timeas the following specifications proceed and with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the sprinkler control valve assembly;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of the electrical portion of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the invention showing the valve controllevers;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section view taken on plane 4-4 shown in FIG. 1and viewed in the direction of the arrows, showing the water passagesthrough the valve;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a ball valve used to open andclose the valve outlets, the ball valve being shown in the closed or offposition, the section being taken on the plane 55 shown in FIG. 3 andviewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a ball valve identical to FIG. 5but with the valve being shown in the open or on position.

Referring to the drawings in which the same parts have been given thesame numerals in the several drawings:

The invention, in its preferred embodiment, comprises a body, 10, towhich there is mounted a motor, 16, and a motor speed reducer, l8,driven by the motor, 16. The motor may be of any conventional fractionalhorsepower type. The motor, 16, is coupled to the speed reducer 18either through gears or by any other conventional method. The speedreducer is preferably of the worm gear box type, in which the shaftspeed of the motor is greatly reduced. A shaft, 30, having threads atone end, extends out of the gear box and is rigidly connected to a cam,36, and held thereon by a nut, 32. When used as a lawn sprinkler controlvalve, it is desirable that the speed reducer 18 should be of such aconstruction so as to drive the shaft 30 at a speed of approximately 1revolution per hour.

Provided within the body, 10, are interconnecting passageways, 54, whichconnect to an inlet, 12, on the exterior of the body, 10, and to aplurality of outlets, 14, also on the exterior of the body, 10. Theopening and closing of the outlets,

14, are each controlled by separate ball valve assemblies, 44,

which are spaced at equal radial distances from the center of the shaft30. The ball valve assemblies 44 are inserted into cavities 46, in thebody, 10, which cavities intersect the passageways, 54, near theoutlets, 14.

Connected to the cam, 36, is a trip arm, 38, one end of which extendsbeyond the end of cam 36. A spring-loaded switch 28, connected to themotor 16 and to a source of electrical power, which is normally in theclosed or on position, is connected to the body 10 at a point which liesat an angle approximately halfway between two adjacent ball valveassemblies, 44. The switch has an arm, 42, which is biased radiallytowards the center of the shaft 30. When no pressure is exerted on thearm 42 it extends towards shaft 30, and the switch contacts are closed.However, as the cam 36 with the connected trip arm 38 rotates around thecentral axis of shaft 30 the trip arm 38 will at some point come intocontact with arm 42 and start to push arm 42 away from shaft 30, and asthe cam 36 with the connected trip arm 38 continues to rotate, at somepoint the contacts in switch 28 will be opened, resulting in the flow ofelectricity through switch 28 being cutoff.

Turning now to the operation of the ball valve assemblies, 44. Each ofthe all valve assemblies 44 comprises a ball valve 50 which is generallyspherical in shape and which has a stem 59 connected thereto, and has acircular hole, 52, passing through the center of the ball valve 50 atright angle to the valve stem, 59. The ball valve, 50 should preferablybe greater in diameter than the passages 54, and the hole 52 shouldpreferably be of the same or slightly smaller in diameter than thediameter of passages 54. The ball valve is mounted in a cavity, 46,which is drilled into the body 10, and the cavity 46 has a generallyspherically shaped inner surface whose radius is slightly greater thanthe radius of the ball valve 50, for a distance equal to approximately'one-half of the diameter of the ball valve, 50, measured from the mostinner surface of the cavity. From a distance equal to approximatelyone-half of the diameter of the ball valve 50, measured from the mostinner surface of the cavity, to the surface of the body, 10, the cavityhas a cylindrical shape and is provided with screw threads 48. Athreaded retaining member, 47, having threads which mate with thethreads provided around the cylindrically shaped portion of the cavity,is screwed into the cavity 46 and retains the ball valve, 50, within thecavity. The inner surface of the threaded retaining member 47 is alsospherically shaped and has a radius slightly greater than the radius ofthe ball valve 50. A hole is provided through the center of the threadedretaining member 47, and is slightly greater in width than the width ofthe valve stem, 59, and is designed to receive and hold the valve stem,59.

In assembly, the ball valve 50 is first placed within the cavity, 46,with the valve stem, 59, extending outwards from the cavity, 46. Thethreaded retaining member 47 is then slipped over the valve stem 59 andis screwed into the cavity 46 to such an extent that the ball valve 50is firmly but rotatably retained. It is desirable that the clearancebetween the ball valve, 50, and the sides of the cavity, 46, and betweenthe ball valve, 50, and the threaded retaining member, 47, be such thatthe ball valve, 50, will rotate freely, but that no water will escapebetween the ball valve, 50, and the sides of the cavity, 46, or betweenthe ball valve, 50, and the retaining member, 47. The hole, 52, in theball valve, 50, is located in such a position that it aligns withpassage way 54 in one position (the open position) and may be turned atright angle to passageway 54 (the closed position). A valve operatingarm 60 having a rounded portion 61, is securely mounted to the valvestem, 59, and is used to turn the ball valve 50. A spring, 62, isconnected to the valve operating arm 60 and biases the ball towards aclosed position. A stop may be provided to insure that the spring 62will not rotate the ball valve 50 beyond its fully closed position.

Each of the ball valve assemblies, 44, is located on the body in such aposition with respect to shaft 30 so that the cam 36, and the trip arm38 may be rotated past the ball valve assembly 44, without binding, butwith cam 36 operating the ball valve 50. The operation of the ball valve50 by the cam 36 is done in the following manner: As the cam 36 rotatesaround theaxis of shaft 30, being driven by shaft 30, face 64 of cam 36will at some point come into contact with the rounded portion 61 of arm60. As the cam continues to rotate, face 64 of cam 36 will push againstthe rounded portion 61 of arm 60 and will force arm 60 to rotate againstthe force of spring 62, thereby causing ball valve 50 to rotate to itsmost fully open position, the speed at which ball valve -50 is openedbeing governed by the geometric shape of face 64. As the cam continuesto rotate the face 64 of cam 36 will at some point recede towards shaft30 with reference to the point of contact between face 64' and roundedportion 61, allowing spring 62 to force ball valve 50 to its closedposition. Face 64 is generally elliptically shaped with its greatestdistance from the center of shaft 30 occurring in the vicinity of theaxis of cam 36, The curvature of face 64 and the location of cam 36 withrespect to each of the valve assemblies 44 is preferably such that theball valve 50 will be in its mostopen position when rounded portion 61of arm 60 of any one valve assembly is located in the vicinity of theaxis of cam 36, and is'such that the ball valve 50 will be in a fullyclosed position when the face 64 of 'cam 36 first makes contact with therounded portion 61 of arm 60 and when face 64 of cam 36 has recededcompletely from the rounded portion 61 of arm 60. As an alternate, thecentral portion of face 64 may have a circular configuration, with theaxis of shaft 30 being at the center of the circle.

FIG. 2 schematically indicates the electrical circuitry of the inventionand the wiring connections which operate motor 16. Basically the controlmechanism comprises a timer and a bypass switch 28 wired in parallel tomotor 16, and to an electrical source. The timer may be of theconventional type wherein electricity is allowed to flow and to be cutoff at specific times. The timer is shown in FIG. 2 to comprise a clockmechanism 63 to which there is connected a movable start arm 55 and amovable stop arm 57. The start arm and the stop arm are differentlengths and have fingers extending at right angles to the arms. Thesefingers operate an on-ofi switch by moving either the top or the bottomof the switch thereby causing a circuit to be either made or brokenbetween movable contacts 51 and fixed contacts 53 of the on-off switch.The start and stop arms are movable on the clock mechanism so that thetime interval between the making and breaking of the electrical circuitthrough the on-off switch may be varied. Start arm 55 and stop arm 57are adjusted by adjustments 24 and 26, respectively, which are shown inFIG. I mounted on an external clock indicator, 22.

Wired in parallel to the on-off switchtimer circuit is a bypass switch28. Switch 28 comprises a fixed contact 45 and a movable contact 43, themovable contact being controlled by the trip arm 38 through the movablearm 42, as heretofore indicated.

Operation of the invention is quite simple. The start arm 55 and thestop arm 57 of the timer 20 are adjusted to an appropriate time andperiod of operation. The invention is con-' nected to a power sourcewhich delivers power to the timer 20 and to the bypass switch 28,causing the clock mechanism of the timer circuit to operate. When thetime for the motor 16 which operates the cam 36 through the speedreducing mechanism 18 is reached, the timer delivers current to themotor 16 the motor activates the cam 36. The trip arm 38 connected tothe cam 36 moves off of and releases the movable arm 42 of the bypassswitch 28 which in turn closes the circuit from the power source throughthe bypass switch 28 to the motor 16. The cam 36 continues to rotate andalternately opens and closes the various ball valves 50 in the mannerhereinabove stated. As long as the timer circuit is closed, power isdelivered through the timer circuit to the motor 16, and the cam 36 willcomplete cycle after cycle. At some point the stop arm 57 will open theon-off switch and stop power from flowing through the timer circuit tothe motor 16. However, 'provided that at the time the flow of powerthrough the timer circuit is cut off the end 40 of trip arm 38 is notengaging the movable arm 42 of the bypass switch, the bypass switch 28,which is of the momentary-off type, will permit power to continue toflow through the bypass switch to the motor 16 and will continue to doso until the trip arm 38 engages the movable arm 42 of the bypass switchto the extent that the connection between contacts 43 and 45 is broken,at which time power will then be cut off to the motor 16. Because of theincorporation in parallel of the bypass switch 28 with the timer 20 themotor operates only for enough time after the timer circuit is openedvto complete a full cycle of operation of the cam 36, thus ensuring thatthe ball valves 50 are in the fully closed position when the motorfinally does stop.

An additional feature of this invention is that, through the use of theball valves and the cam mechanism, the flow of water can be slowlyopened and closed, thereby eliminating a water-hammer effect.

While one embodiment of the invention has herein been shown anddescribed, it may readily be understood that various modifications andvariations in the invention may be attained without departing from thespirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof, as defined by the claimsappended hereto.

1 claim: I

1. A control valve mechanism comprising a base, an inlet provided on thesurface of said base, a plurality of outlets provided on the surface ofsaid base, channels connecting the inlet and outlets forming passagewaysbetween the inlet and the outlets, valve means for separately openingand. blocking off each of the passageways between the inlet and theseveral outlets, an electrical motor, linkage means permitting theelectrical motor to operate the valve means, a timer connecting theelectrical motor to a source of electrical power, a bypass switchconnected in parallel with the timer to the electrical motor and to asource of electrical power, and trip means for activating the bypassswitch.

2. A control valve mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the valvemeans comprise a plurality of ball valve assemblies, each of said ballvalve assemblies comprising a ball valve located in a cavity provided inthe body and intersecting a passageway leading to an outlet, said ballvalve being provided with a stem, the ball valve having a hole passingthrough the ball valve, a retaining member for retaining the ball valvewithin the cavity, said retaining member being provided with a holethrough which the stem of the ball valve may be inserted, a valveoperating arm connected to said stem, and a spring biasing the ballvalve towards a closed position, the hole in the ball valve beingprovided in such a location that it will align with the passageway whenthe ball valve is turned to one position by the linkage means operatingon the valve operating arm and so that the hole in the ball valve willnot align with the passageway when the ball valve is turned to anotherposition by the linkage means operating on the valve operating arm.

3. A control valve mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein the ballvalve assemblies are located circumferentially around a point on thebody, and the linkage means comprises a speed reducer connected to themotor and having a shaft which extends to and is at the center of thepoint on the body around which the ball valve assemblies arecircumferentially located, and a cam connected to said shaft and capableof moving the valve operating arms of the ball valve assemblies to suchan extent as to pen the ball valves to their most open position, withoutbinding.

4. A control valve mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein the bypassswitch is of the momentary off type and is located between the two ballvalve assemblies, and the trip means comprises a trip arm connected tothe shaft of the speed reducer, the trip arm being located in such aposition that the trip arm engages the bypass switch at a point wherethe cam does not engage any valve operating arm.

5. An automatic sprinkler control for controlling the flow of waterthrough a series of conduits comprising a base, said base havingconnecting passageways provided therein, said passageways leading from acommon water inlet located on the surface of the body to a plurality ofoutlets located on the surface of the body, means for connectingconduits to said inlet and outlets, a plurality of valves, each of whichseparately regulates the flow of water through an outlet, an electricm0- tor, means for causing the electric motor to open and close each ofsaid valves at different points in a cycle of operation of the sprinklercontrol, a timer connected to said motor and to a source of electricpower and providing power to said electric motor to operate same duringadjustable periods of time, a bypass switch wired in parallel with saidtimer to the electric motor and to the source of electric power, andactivating means connected to said electric motor for operating saidbypass switch at a specific point in a cycle of operation of thesprinkler control, said bypass switch being of the momentaryoff type andproviding power to the electric motor at all but a small interval in thecycle of operation of the sprinkler control, said bypass switch beingactivated, so as to be off, by said activating means at a point in thecycle of operation of the sprinkler control when all the valves areclosed, so as to stop the electric motor at said point provided no poweris flowing through the timer.

1. A control valve mechanism comprising a base, an inlet provided on thesurface of said base, a plurality of outlets provided on the surface ofsaid base, channels connecting the inlet and outlets forming passagewaysbetween the inlet and the outlets, valve means for separately openingand blocking off each of the passageways between the inlet and theseveral outlets, an electrical motor, linkage means permitting theelectrical motor to operate the valve means, a timer connecting theelectrical motor to a source of electrical power, a bypass switchconnected in parallel with the timer to the electrical motor and to asource of electrical power, and trip means for activating the bypassswitch.
 2. A control valve mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein thevalve means comprise a plurality of ball valve assemblies, each of saidball valve assemblies comprising a ball valve located in a cavityprovided in the body and intersecting a passageway leading to an outlet,said ball valve being provided with a stem, the ball valve having a holepassing through the ball valve, a retaining member for retaining theball valve within the cavity, said retaining member being provided witha hole through which the stem of the ball valve may be inserted, a valveoperating arm connected to said stem, and a spring biasing the ballvalve towards a closed position, the hole in the ball valve beingprovided in such a location that it will align with the passageway whenthe ball valve is turned to one position by the linkage means operatingon the valve operating arm and so that the hole in the ball valve willnot align with the passageway when the ball valve is turned to anotherposition by the linkage means operating on the valve operating arm.
 3. Acontrol valve mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein the ball valveassemblies are located circumferentially around a point on the body, andthe linkage means comprises a speed reducer connected to the motor andhaving a shaft which extends to and is at the center of the point on thebody around which the ball valve assemblies are circumferentiallylocated, and a cam connected to said shaft and capable of moving thevalve operating arms of the ball valve assemblies to such an extent asto pen the ball valves to their most open position, without binding. 4.A control valve mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein the bypassswitch is of the momentary off type and is located between the two ballvalve assemblies, and the trip means comprises a trip arm connected tothe shaft of the speed reducer, the trip arm being located in such aposition that the trip arm engages the bypass switch at a point wherethe cam does not engage any valve operating arm.
 5. An automaticsprinkler control for controlling the flow of water through a series ofconduits comprising a base, said base having connecting passagewaysprovided therein, said passageways leading from a common water inletlocated on the surface of the body to a plurality of outlets located onthe surface of the body, means for connecting conduits to said inlet andoutlets, a plurality of valves, each of which separately regulates theflow of water through an outlet, an electric motor, means for causingthe electric motor to open and close each of said valves at differentpoints in a cycle of operation of the sprinkler control, a timerconnected to said motor and to a source of electric power and providingpower to said electric motor to operate same during adjustable periodsof time, a bypass switch wired in parallel with said timer to theelectric motor and to the source of electric power, and activating meansconnected to said electric motor for operating said bypass switch at aspecific point in a cycle of operation of the sprinkler control, saidbypass switch being of the momentary-off type and providing power to theelectric motor at all but a small interval in the cycle of operation ofthe sprinkler control, said bypass switch being activated, so as to beoff, by said activating means at a point in the cycle of operation ofthe sprinkler control when all the valves are closed, so as to stop theelectric motor at said point provided no power is flowing through thetimer.